Bits of it

Last night we had a farbrengen here at RCA with Rabbi Aaron Gancz. Due to a variety of factors I was only able get down a few of the things he said. Oh well.

Misnagdim like to tell a mashal about two brothers who were very rich, and did everything together. One of them developed an ulcer, and his doctors told him he couldn't eat meat anymore, only milchigs. A little while later the other brother found out that he was lactose intolerant, and be could only eat meat products. Since they were very rich they made two separate kitchens, with two separate wait staffs and everything, one serving exclusively meat, the other milk.
Eventually the economy turned south, and the brother's fortunes too declined. Neither could afford their previous luxuries, and they both cut down in their food consumption. The one had to stop eating meat and went to chicken. Eventually he couldn't even afford that, and he was reduced to chicken, thence chicken wings, and then at the end he could only afford potatoes. So too the other brother lost his money, and he went from pizza to mai challav to...potatoes.
The brothers realized the situation, and figured, why are we keeping two separate kitchens? It's so expensive, such a waste. We'll combine them!

The misnagdim say, back in the day, the misnagdim were real misnagdim, the chassidim were real chassidim. Look at the Gra, the Baal haTanya, the many other great leaders of yesteryear. And now? What do we have? We're both eating potatoes! Let's combine our kitchens.

When R' Yoel Kahn heard this he wasn't impressed. He explained that in reality chassidus has spread so far that the misnagdim have become chassidim! All their theology has become chassidus, even if they don't know it, even if they don't want to know it, facts are...
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When Rabbi Gancz was a kid in Satmar his teacher brought in a Russian Jew who told them his story. He grew up frum, keeping kosher, davening three times a day, learning Torah, etc. The only thing was, in Soviet Russia it was impossible to go to shul, especially if you were a kid.
This kid grew up into a young man, as frum as anyone, but he had never gone to shul, never davened with a minyan. Came shavuos, and he had a huge taavah to hear the aseres hadibros. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that if he went bad things would happen to him. A taavah is a taavah, he went to shul. And as he had known, he was arrested for two weeks, lost his job, and generally was made miserable.
After the man finished the story Rabbi Gancz's teacher said, "You see the kinds of trouble you'll get into if you give into your taavos?"
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A woman came to Rabbi Gancz when he worked in the diamond business many years ago, and told him a story. Her parents didn't raise her frum or anything, and she was quite surprised when she came home and found out what her mother had to say to the question, "What would you do if I came home with a goy?" Her mother, sensing that this was more than just a theoretical question, answered, "Simple. I'd kill you."
The girl was not only surprised but she was also perturbed, and she packed her bags and prepared to leave forever. Just as she was dragging her suitcases out of the house she figured she'd ask her father what he thought. So up she went to him, and asked her father the question. He took some time to respond, but eventually he answered. "I'd get a gun with two bullets. With one I'd shoot you, because you can't live with a goy. With the other I'd shoot myself, because I can't live without you."
For the first time in her life she understood that Judaism meant something to someone. Not only in a negative way, but in a positive way. Something worth getting worked up about. Or something like that.
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One of R' Mendel Futerfas' daughters passed away, and by the funeral he was seen to be mumbling through his tears. A guy walked over and heard what he was saying, "Fifty years and you still haven't gotten that everything is for the good?" A little while later his niece passed away, and he was really crying this time. His wife asked him, "You cry more for your niece than your own daughter?"